22 June 2010

NSFW: naked bike parade

The past weekend was drizzly. And gray. Even for Seattle standards, this whole It's-late-June-but-really-feels-like-late-October shiznit is getting old. To quote Dan Savage:

Yea.

Luckily, in the midst of all the suicide-inspiring weather, we were treated the the festivities of the Solstice Parade... otherwise known as the Fremont Fair... otherwise known as the Naked Bike Parade.

Uh-huh, you know you would get out of bed and stand in the drizzle for that. And by stand in the drizzle, I mean stand in the drizzle in a beer garden. [Note: If people are riding their bikes buck-naked and painted like a giraffe, it is totally acceptable to be drinking a beer at the same time, even if that time is 11:30 in the morning.]

I had never made it to the Solstice, even though I had long wanted to see the debauchery & creative spirit that embodies my little adopted city. Amos and I dragged our sorry bums out of bed and biked over there, riding behind a couple of people who would be participating in the parade [Note: we were enthusiastic spectators... NOT enthusiastic participants. Just to clarify.] I saw waaay more buttocks on the Burke-Gilman trail than I usually do. What a way to start your morning. I giggled the entire way there.

We met up with friends, who brought their friends, then ran into more friends, and soon had a whole cohort of people standing on tables in the beer garden, drinking too-large-of-beers to be socially acceptable before noon, and whistling at the bikers. And you know what... they are inspirational. For reals. The paint jobs were professional caliber. I have now decided that, if you live a good life, you are reincarnated as a person with enough kahones to ride naked down a street.

It also was beautiful, wonderful, reassuring, and joyous to see REAL bodies. None of that photoshopped shit. No emaciated models. Real bodies, painted up, riding bikes down the street in a non-sponsored, non-motorized parade. Makes a girl happy. Take that Kate Moss. Take that.

But please, Seattle, if you're not going to have another Solstice Parade next weekend, I may need some sunshine to cheer me up.

5 comments:

I would have totally loved to see that, it looked hilarous!! Too bad about all the rain. My best friend lives in Portland, OR and she says the rainy season can really get old. Glad you ended up having a good weekend it looked like a blast. Also I totaly agree about seeing real boddies and not photoshopped ship, how refreshing.

Oh my word, three naked Waldos. There's a sentence I never thought I would have the occasion to type =) Looks like a great time! Reminds me of the naked mile in Ann Arbor, except the naked mile is running and um, not painted so a bit more scandalous to the eye.

Damnit, I've been planning on being Where's Waldo for the next halloween forever now, but naked Waldo's totally one up me and now I feel a normal, non-naked costume is too boring. Damn damn.And wow, I would have totally killed to be there. Hell, I probably would have participated in the nude! How fun!